TheWorld Tamil Conference (Tamil:உலகத் தமிழ் மாநாடு) is a series of occasional conferences to discuss the social growth of theTamil language. Each conference is attended by thousands of Tamil enthusiasts around the world. Conferences are hosted in various cities in India, as well as world cities with a significant Tamil population. The conference aims in promoting the heritage of Tamil language
A similar conference calledWorld Classical Tamil Conference 2010, unapproved by theInternational Association for Tamil Research, was held in Tamil Nadu conducted by theGovernment of Tamil Nadu under the leadership ofM. Karunanidhi. Not all agreed with the academic and intellectual[who?] rigour of the latter event[citation needed]. Despite these criticisms upholding such a huge event portraying the value of Tamil language and culture is being appreciated vastly and credited to the DMK supremo as commonly believed by the people in the state of Tamil Nadu.[1][2][3] The theme song of the World Classical Tamil conference, Semmozhiyana Thamizh mozhiyam, was composed by Oscar award winnerA. R. Rahman. The song was written byM. Karunanidhi where he has used popular quotes from Sangam poetry.
The latest edition of the conference was held on July 3–7, 2019 in Chicago. The 10th conference was jointly hosted by International Association of Tamil Research, Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America (FeTNA) and Chicago Tamil Sangam (CTS).[4] The theme song of the 10th World Tamil Conference was composed by American ComposerRajan Somasundaram, titled 'Yathum Oore Anthem'. He has composed the first ever musical form for the 2000 year old poetry, Yathum Oore, written bySangam period poetKaniyan Pungundranar. Rajan mentioned that as a tribute to one of the most progressive ancient poetry that calls for unity and equality, he composed the theme song to cover multiple genres of music and brought in many international musicians of varying genres, ethnicity and languages including academy nominated singerBombay Jayashri andKarthik (singer).[5]
| Official title | Host city | Host country | Year | Chief Organizer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st International Tamil Research Conference | Kuala Lumpur |  Malaysia | 1966 | Fr. Thani Nayagam | |
| 2nd International Tamil Research Conference | Chennai |  India | 1968 | M. Bhaktavatsalam andC. N. Annadurai | |
| 3rd International Tamil Research Conference | Paris |  France | 1970 | Fr. Thani Nayagam | |
| 4th International Tamil Research conference | Jaffna |  Sri Lanka | 1974 | Fr. Thani Nayagam | |
| 5th International Tamil Research Conference | Madurai | India | 1981 | M. G. Ramachandran | |
| 6th International Tamil Research Conference | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 1987 | S. Samy Velu | |
| 7th International Tamil Research Conference | Port Louis |  Mauritius | 1989 | [Armoogum Parsuramen - Minister of Education, Arts and Culture] | |
| 8th International Tamil Research Conference | Thanjavur | India | 1995 | J. Jayalalithaa | |
| 9th International Tamil Research Conference | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 2015 | ||
| 10th International Tamil Research Conference | Chicago |  USA | 2019 | International Association for Tamil Research,FeTNA &Chicago Tamil Sangam | |
| 11th International Tamil Research Conference | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 2023 | Nandhan Masilamani, Organising Secretary International Association for Tamil Research-India Branch |
First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, 1966
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